Chapter 34: Absolute Master

Kwa-jijik!

Jang Woo-hyun used Horse King’s Third Step: Sovereign Ruling and stomped directly on the martial artist below. The opponent seemed to try resisting to some degree, but couldn’t withstand it. His arm shattered, and he collapsed—ultimately, his upper body was crushed completely.

As soon as he landed, Jang Woo-hyun spun his body around.

The Great Wheel of Three Wheels Sword Art.

Seen from above, a large circle was drawn in the air. With that motion, the necks of four out of the five nearby enemies were severed.

“Keugh!”

One managed to block the attack with his sword.

That man was Do-eon, leader of the Blazing Flame Sword Sect, but Jang Woo-hyun did not recognize him. Considering him a slightly stronger martial artist, he immediately launched Black Wolf Fang at him.

Do-eon tried to block the flying slash, but his sword and upper body were both cut apart.

Chwaaak—

In the world that had flipped upside down as his body was severed, Do-eon thought his friend had been wrong.

Whether it was six sects or ten—it didn’t matter. That was something no one could face.

A monster beyond confrontation.

‘Even the Sect Leader of the Asura Sword Sect wouldn’t be able to stop him…….’

That was the final thought in Do-eon’s fading consciousness.

After Heo Seong-ryeom and then Do-eon were taken down, what followed was a massacre. Everything and everyone—be it person or sword—was cut down wherever Jang Woo-hyun passed.

One martial artist of the Blazing Flame Sword Sect, watching the scene, murmured.

“One slash, one kill……”

Just as the saying went, not a single person could block or endure his sword.

One person at a time, no—at times, even two or three were severed by a single swing.

It almost looked like a beautiful sword dance.

A dance where, instead of petals fluttering or silk waving, blood and shattered bodies flew through the air.

“P-Please spare me!”

One martial artist dropped his sword on the ground and immediately knelt. Then, he pressed his forehead to the earth.

Jang Woo-hyun was no bloodthirsty demon, so he did not attack those who surrendered. Seeing that, the rest dropped their weapons and slammed their foreheads to the ground.

In less than half a quarter-hour, both the Blazing Flame Sword Sect and Ghost Hand Manor had been defeated—by a single man.

Everyone trembled as they lay prostrate. Not a single one dared to raise their head or meet his gaze. Jang Woo-hyun used his sword to poke at the one closest to him.

“Are you Ghost Hand Manor and the Blazing Flame Sword Sect?”

“……”

The targeted man just lay there, trembling, unable to speak.

“No?”

When Jang Woo-hyun poked again with his sword, the man barely opened his mouth.

“Y-Yes! Th-That’s right!”

“Where are your Sect Leaders?”

“O-Over there, over there!”

The man slightly lifted his body and pointed with his arm.

He indicated the man Jang Woo-hyun had first stomped with Sovereign Ruling, and the one who had briefly blocked his sword but was then cleaved in half by Black Wolf Fang.

“Oh, already took them out. Then who’s next?”

“E-Excuse me? I don’t… quite understand what you mean…”

“I’m asking who’s the highest-ranking person left among you.”

Several of the prostrated ones visibly shuddered.

Jang Woo-hyun’s gaze turned to their backs.

“Listen carefully. Return to your sects immediately. Don’t show yourselves again. And tell the Asura Sword Sect, too. The Sect Leader is dead, and there’s no longer any reason to attack.”

“……”

“No answer?”

When he raised his sword, everyone shouted in unison that they understood.

“Then let’s make sure we don’t see each other again.”

Leaving those words behind, Jang Woo-hyun vanished again at speed. The remaining ones let out a sigh of relief for surviving, finally realizing what kind of monster their leaders had tried to confront.

* * *

After annihilating the Blazing Flame Sword Sect and Ghost Hand Manor, Jang Woo-hyun did not return to Gyerim. He kept moving.

Perhaps warned in advance by Hwang An, young beggars had positioned themselves in each location.

“It’s an honor, Master Jang!”

They welcomed Jang Woo-hyun with eyes full of awe and burden, and informed him of the locations of the remaining sects.

After that, Jang Woo-hyun unfolded his lightness skill and ran again.

Eventually, he reached a group encamped near the edge of a forest.

Even a rough count showed over a hundred martial artists.

Jang Woo-hyun rushed straight in, drawing Flying Swallow and preparing to launch Black Wolf Fang.

“Found you.”

A voice suddenly echoed.

There was no one nearby, yet it sounded as though it came from right next to him.

Thwoong.

Then came a sound.

A chill crept up his spine, and Jang Woo-hyun instinctively dropped Flying Swallow and drew Silent Night.

Kkwaaaang!

“Keugh!”

An immense impact struck Silent Night, blasting him in a direction completely different from the one he had been running in. To dissipate the force, he stepped back dozens of paces.

‘If it hadn’t been Silent Night, it would’ve broken.’

An attack that couldn’t be blocked with Flying Swallow.

The most powerful strike he had faced since entering the Martial World. With trembling arms from the impact, he steadied Silent Night.

Due to the tremendous noise, the masters from the three nearby sects were rushing over—but he didn’t even register them.

His eyes turned elsewhere.

Someone was approaching from that direction.

Close-cropped hair and bronzed skin. Underneath thick eyebrows, eyes that contained a strength unlike anything he’d ever seen.

‘An old man?’

Even while staring directly at him, Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t guess his exact age. He could only roughly infer it from the man’s white beard and hair.

The man wore a loosely fitted, unfamiliar style of clothing. Whenever the wind blew and the fabric clung to his body, his solid, trained muscles were clearly visible.

Though he appeared to walk slowly, with every step he took, the distance between them shrank—as if space itself compressed.

Kuwoong!

When he finally stopped, it sounded as though something powerful had struck the earth.

It wasn’t a real sound.

It was one Jang Woo-hyun’s mind had conjured. As if something tremendous had descended from the heavens.

“This…”

What sort of monster was this?

Only upon facing him up close did Jang Woo-hyun realize.

Even without revealing any aura, it was clear.

This man was on a completely different level.

When Jang Woo-hyun first saw Jin Ha-un, first met Bang Jong-oh, Vice-Sect Leader of the Demon Extermination Sect, and when he encountered Pyo Deuk-won, Sect Leader of the Grand Sabre Sect, he had been surprised. Back then, those men were all martial artists more skilled than himself.

But this man was completely different.

If those people had been wolves, foxes, tigers, or bears—then the man before him was a dragon. He wasn’t just someone fighting for dominance over the land; he was someone who looked down at the world from the heavens.

The arm still tingled from the attack he had taken earlier.

For the first time since entering the Martial World, Jang Woo-hyun had encountered a being beyond classification.

As the mysterious man approached, the sect leaders of the three sects—who had been Jang Woo-hyun’s original targets—also arrived. Upon seeing the man, they trembled.

“W-Why is he…?”

“Gasp!”

Some looked as though they had seen something they never should have.

The man slowly turned his head. Even that single motion conveyed power.

“Leave.”

His deep, heavy voice echoed, and with just those few words, he took control of the surroundings.

“Don’t show yourselves for a while. I’ll speak to the Sword Sect Leader directly.”

The order came suddenly, but no one dared argue. The three sect leaders bowed their heads deeply.

“Yes, we understand.”

“We’ll do so.”

“We will.”

After giving their respectful farewells, they quickly departed, as if they wanted no further involvement.

Watching them go, the man turned his head back toward Jang Woo-hyun.

Jang Woo-hyun had been debating whether to launch a preemptive strike, but as soon as the man looked at him, that thought vanished. This was not someone who could be caught off guard.

“Nice to meet you.”

After the brief greeting:

“I’m Cheol Geuk-jin.”

He revealed his name.

Even Jang Woo-hyun, whom Hwang An had called a newcomer to the Martial World, remembered that name.

“The Eight Lords…”

A legend in the current Martial World. Eight absolute masters—the Eight Lords.

This mysterious man was one of them.

Mad Warlord, Tyrant King, Cheol Geuk-jin.

Sect Leader of the Tyrant Heaven Sect. Number one among the Demonic Paths.

He was called the strongest of the unorthodox factions—a man at the pinnacle of martial arts. And he stood right before Jang Woo-hyun.

Countless thoughts swirled through Jang Woo-hyun’s mind.

Why now? Why here?

Why did he come?

He had no ties to the man, no connection to anything related to him.

But the moment their eyes met, all those thoughts vanished. One idea consumed his mind: How do I fight this monster?

“Did you intend to kill them all?”

No answer came. Jang Woo-hyun simply gripped Silent Night tightly in his tense hands.

“With your skill… hmm.”

Cheol Geuk-jin paused, studying him carefully.

“You’ve clearly entered the Master Level, but even to my eyes, it looks faint.”

At the end of his words—

“Keugh!”

An overwhelming pressure crushed down on Jang Woo-hyun. Cheol Geuk-jin had unleashed his presence, targeting him directly.

To shake off the pressure weighing down his shoulders, Jang Woo-hyun released the Secret Flowing Body Technique, something he now used effortlessly without conscious thought.

Huuuuung!

His surging energy pushed back against the crushing force. Freed from the pressure, Jang Woo-hyun straightened his body, and Cheol Geuk-jin let a faint smile curl at the corner of his lips.

“Huh…”

Jang Woo-hyun was more impressive than expected.

He had only wanted to gauge the boy’s level, but now his thoughts changed.

“I’ll throw one punch. Try blocking it.”

With a calm tone, Cheol Geuk-jin raised his hand.

As he clenched his fist, the surrounding energy was drawn inward—like he intended to contain the world in his palm.

That’s insane…

Faced with the absurdity of it, Jang Woo-hyun’s sword flared. This wasn’t a typical sword aura—seven rings formed, wrapping around his blade.

“Here I come.”

At that cue, Cheol Geuk-jin thrust his fist.

Jang Woo-hyun struck with his sword to meet it.

Kwagwagwang! Kwang!

Seven fierce, layered strikes burst forth.

But a single punch shattered them all.

Six layers of combined force were obliterated, and only the seventh managed to block the strike.

Jang Woo-hyun staggered back five or six steps; Cheol Geuk-jin stepped back two. It was clear who had lost that exchange.

From that position, Jang Woo-hyun drew upon every bit of internal energy he had never used before. This was the first time since reaching the Master Level.

Rumble…

Thunder roared as his energy exploded around him, swirling violently. Just by standing still, the ground beneath his feet cracked open.

Cheol Geuk-jin, who had been looking at his own fist, widened his eyes again in surprise as he watched the enormous energy that Jang Woo-hyun released.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been this surprised.”

Crack-booooom!

Jang Woo-hyun raised Silent Night. His radiating energy streaked out like lightning. At that moment, he looked like he was cloaked in thunder and storm.

“Stop now.”

Despite Cheol Geuk-jin’s words, Jang Woo-hyun didn’t withdraw his energy. He kept exchanging gazes with the man, ready to strike at any moment.

“I don’t intend to harm you. Stop—it’s dangerous. Can’t you feel it? Your body’s already straining.”

He was right.

All Jang Woo-hyun had done was draw out his energy, but his body trembled and ached. Just like when he had overexerted himself during the fight against Ha Jung-do.

Only after staring at Cheol Geuk-jin for a while did Jang Woo-hyun finally begin to retract his energy.

If Cheol Geuk-jin had wanted to harm him, he could have done so already. It didn’t seem like he had any hostile intent toward Jang Woo-hyun.

“Hard to believe you’re only at Master Level. With the internal energy you’ve got, people would believe you’re an Absolute Master.”

“……”

“That’s not a good thing. You’ve got more power than your vessel can handle. At this rate, your body won’t be able to endure it. You need to either break through to the next stage or find another method.”

Jang Woo-hyun frowned slightly at those words. He had seen something similar before.

In the records left behind by Kim Min-soo, the Demonic Flame Divine Warrior, it said that when he was in the Master Level, he had been in a similar state.

“It’s rare, but it happens. A rapid increase in power that the body can’t keep up with. Your case is especially unusual.”

Cheol Geuk-jin, seemingly intent on helping, kept explaining without being asked.

“How long has it been since you started training in martial arts?”

Jang Woo-hyun hesitated for a moment, unsure of the question’s intent, then offered a fabricated answer.

“About fifteen years…”

“Don’t lie. You haven’t trained that long.”

When something is repeated over time, it becomes habit. That applies even to martial artists who reach the peak. Unless one has reached the realm beyond humanity—Absolute Level or higher—traces of those habits remain, even at the Peak or Master Levels.

But Jang Woo-hyun showed no such signs. Which meant his actual training time was far shorter than claimed.

Someone like Cheol Geuk-jin could easily tell.

“……”

Feeling Cheol Geuk-jin’s piercing gaze, Jang Woo-hyun debated whether to tell the truth. He didn’t know why the man had come or whether he might turn out to be an enemy.

But it seemed unlikely that he could deceive Cheol Geuk-jin. And besides, he was curious—how would someone who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts evaluate his growth?

Resolved, Jang Woo-hyun met Cheol Geuk-jin’s gaze directly.

Seeing the power writhing in those eyes, he felt it again.

Tyrant King Cheol Geuk-jin was something beyond human. He may have already transcended humanity.

There was no way to lie to those eyes. Better to be honest—and to be judged by someone at the summit.

“One year. It’s been about one year.”

At Jang Woo-hyun’s honest answer—

The awe-inspiring aura and mystical energy surrounding Cheol Geuk-jin vanished.

“Eh? What did you say?”

The being who moments ago hadn’t seemed human now looked like an ordinary old man.

It was such an unbelievable statement that it had broken his composure.

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